1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to product merchandisers which store, display and dispense products one at a time. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a product merchandiser having a security device which protects products therein from theft.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art includes a vast number of structures for storing, displaying and dispensing products of all kinds and sizes. In stores and supermarkets where space is at a premium, product merchandisers are generally configured to hold a plurality of products in vertical columns or in horizontal rows. These merchandisers may be tilted for gravity feed or they may have continuous, serpentine paths for merchandise stored in columns and rows to follow.
When products dispensed are cylindrical cans, the merchandiser apparatus will often utilize a gravity-feed serpentine path, which easily and economically delivers the cans and without the need for internal pusher elements. The main requirement would be structure at the opening or discharge area to prevent products from falling out, and to allow one product at a time to reach the dispensing area.
Store owners who use product merchandisers of this type have found a disturbing amount of theft of certain particularly popular and/or expensive products. In supermarkets and other large stores it can be difficult or unreasonably expensive to monitor and guard these theft-prone dispensing machines.
The present disclosure addresses the theft problem with a modified merchandiser structure that alerts store staff when a product is being taken from the merchandiser. In view of honest customers who intend to pay for merchandise being in the vast majority, the present disclosure addresses the potential theft situation without embarrassing or offending honest customers.